Man charged with drunken hit-and-run in Saratoga Springs

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Police say a man was drunk behind the wheel when he backed out of a parking space, drove over a woman and then drove away.

Police say Paul J. Natale, 30, of Ryanwood Court in Gansevoort was "highly intoxicated" after leaving the bars on Caroline Street Jan. 31. He was with his friend and a woman he had known for years and run into at the bars, police said.

They were all supposed to go back to his house just after last call downtown. Natale planned to give the woman a ride so he met her at the Spring Street parking garage where she was parked.

Saratoga Springs Police Lt. John Catone said Natale pulled into a space in the parking garage.

Advertisement

The woman was standing behind his car and turned to lock her car door with her key fob before getting into Natale's car.

"He just backed up and ran right over her," Catone said. Then he drove off. "Natale and his passenger never stopped to check on the victim nor did they call 911 for help. Natale drove off leaving his victim on lying on the ground."

The victim got up and drove to Saratoga Hospital where she spent five days recovering from broken and bruised ribs, cuts, bruises and road rash.

"She was banged up pretty good," Catone said, but the injuries were not life-threatening.

A mile and a half down the road, Natale crashed his car into a tree on Excelsior Springs Road, just past St. Clement's Church on Lake Avenue.

His passenger was transported to Saratoga Hospital with minor injuries and Natale was charged with driving while intoxicated.

For the last month, Saratoga Springs Police have been trying to piece together the events of that night.

Catone said the victim was cooperative, but she was "knocked down pretty hard and was disoriented" and didn't know who had run her over.

SSPD Investigator Jack Barney and Traffic Safety Sgt. Andrew Prestigiacomo reviewed video from near the Spring Street parking garage and businesses downtown and used that and interviews to piece together who the victim was with that night.

"It was the proverbial needle in a haystack," Catone said. "They started with nothing. They did a great job."

Natale was initially charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content exceeding .08 percent, both misdemeanors. He was also charged with failure to stop at a stop sign.

Monday he was also charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, another misdemeanor.